Electrical fire damages Wyman Energy Center in Yarmouth

Firefighters spent an hour Tuesday morning controlling a fire that broke out in a bank of electrical panels at the Wyman Energy Center in Yarmouth.

Staff at the power plant on Cousins Island reported the fire shortly after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Chief Michael Robitaille said the fire in the electrical panels may have been caused by an energy surge or malfunction.

It took 18 firefighters from Yarmouth about an hour to get the fire under control and another hour to finish their work at the scene, Robitaille said. They used carbon dioxide extinguishers designed to put out electrical fires.

The fire was in a bank of about 25 electrical panels that are 480 volts, Robitaille said. The power station has its own fire brigade, but didn’t have enough personnel on scene to deal with the fire, he said.

“The power plant personnel were on scene and guided our crews in. We used their extinguishing systems to put the fire out,” Robitaille said.

Robitaille said the panels and wiring will have to be replaced. Some operations at the plant are shut down temporarily.

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters from Cumberland assisted at the scene, while Freeport and Falmouth provided station coverage.

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